2009 was just pretty much the worst, am I right? I don’t remember discussing this while it was actually happening, but that now seems to be the general consensus among my friends and acquaintances. We’re glad it’s over, and even though nothing changed between December 31st and January 1st, it just feels better to be in a new year. It just seems like we can put all of that behind us now. Right?
I am not really one for resolutions, but I do enjoy goals, so here are a few goals which I have for the coming year or so:
Get more fit. I don’t really mean “lose weight” here, although that would be nice, I mean increase my overall fitness. This is a goal I’ve been working on for over a year now, and have made tiny little micro-steps. Right now, I walk 3 miles on the treadmill 4-5 times a week. Ideally I would like to get to the point where I can walk/jog a 5K without burning out. I have toyed with the idea of signing up for one in late Spring/early Summer just to give myself a goal. Are there any Portlanders who might want to jog a 5K with me in a few months?
Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal
Learn Spanish. I just want to understand what’s being said to me, and maybe squeak out a few sentences in reply. I don’t want to become fluent. Lately I’ve been thinking that I should read childrens’ books in Spanish, specifically the Harry Potter series, and plod through them slowly. I ran this by my fluent-in-multiple-languages, Romance-Languages-degree bestest pal and she said that she thought it might work! It’s worth a shot at least. I don’t live in Texas anymore, where being conversational in Spanish would have actually been handy, but I’ve wanted to learn Spanish for a long time, and can’t afford the cost or time of a class or tutor.
our backyard
Work on the garden & landscaping of the house. The current landscaping of our house is: there is none. None at all. Our house has nothing in the way of curb appeal, and the backyard is sizable but completely vacant. At least we have a clean slate rather than having to undo another person’s gardening decisions.
the morning after Matthew proposed
Finally figure out the wedding stuff. Matthew and I have now been engaged for two years, and we’re no closer to having a wedding planned than we were when we got engaged. The thing is, we are in a really tight spot. We want to pay for the wedding ourselves, but we are broke. We want the wedding to be intimate, but we want our family and friends to all be there, and our combined immediate families alone total over 30 people. We want the wedding to be in Portland, because this is our home, but 85% of our guests would be coming in from out-of-state, so we have to give them plenty of time to order tickets and make arrangements. And finally, we face the ultimate tough point: we want a wedding that reflects who we really are and who we are is…not very wedding-y. Even the weddings on the indie/offbeat bride websites make me cringe—but only when I picture myself in them! I appreciate that they’re the perfect weddings for the people involved, but so far I haven’t seen one and thought, “Oh, that would be totally right for us.” For all of these reasons and more, we have put off and put off making any real decisions. Now we very much need to get married for the tax and insurance benefits, and we have no idea how to resolve any of these issues.
So those are my goals, or at least the ones I feel comfortable writing about on the internet. Tell me what you’re working on!
11 Responses to “Making it Through That Year Almost Killed Me”
What about just a fun, backyard party? It’s a nice yard, even un-lanscaped. In April? I don’t know what PDX weather is like.
In any case, good luck with it all!
I don’t know if it’s really an option for you, but you might think about getting a courthouse wedding so that you’ll be married for the benefits, then you can have the actual “wedding” in your own time when everything is right (timing, cost, ideas, all of it!). That way you aren’t under a deadline that may make it less fun.
Yeah 2009 – year of the suck.
1. I can’t recommend the Couch to 5K enough! It really really works and you can be up to running 30 mins straight without stopping (however far that gets you) in 9 weeks. My first 5k took me about 40 minutes… but I ran the whole thing (well if you can call moving that slowly “running”) without a problem using that training program.
2. My goals: more quality girlfriend time with some new friends, buy nothing new/seriously consider purchases/cash only policy, figure out what my own family traditions around holidays will be, start researching what it would take to open a handmade gift/art/craft boutique.
3. I hope I get a chance to come to Portland this year. I have plenty of vacation and I realllly want to.
#1 and #2 are also two of my goals! I’m taking a Spanish class (required for my degree, but I’m actually kind of excited!) so maybe we can learn together!
Ugh… I’m so sorry it’s been a tough year. 2008 was that way for me and it sucks.
Regarding the running – have you heard of John “the Penguin” Bingham? He’s a guy that is an adult-onset runner and talks about the virtues of running, especially for us slower “back of the pack” types. The book he and his wife Coach Jenny Hadfield coauthored – “Running for Mortals” – was really accessible, inspiring and had great tips/training plans. http://www.johnbingham.com/
As for Spanish class… you might try your public library (I’m sure you’re all over this.) I found out my local library had access to the Rosetta Stone series online. How cool is that!
Best of luck in all of your goals and happy new year!
Awesome goals for this year! For the running check out the Couch to 5k Plan, it really does work. Link below. It’s totally free and helped me start (and now restart after being lazy for a year) running and I was able to do a few 5ks after finishing it. http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
Good Luck!
Here’s my wedding suggestion: After being engaged awhile I made some calls, then called my wife-to-be and told her if we get our blood tests this afternoon (Friday), the results will be in Tuesday and we can get married Saturday – 8 days away. She said OK and we did just that having a Justice of the Peace come to our house in front of 50 or so friends and family who planned the little shindig that fast. You can do it!
I hear you on the wedding thing. Phil and I struggled with it for 4 years for exactly the same reasons. I’m so glad we finally did it the way that worked best for us. It was a day I will always remember – fun and low stress! I recommend getting a friend to help drive the process in order to keep you motivated. it worked really well for us.
Ohhh, you’re lucky actually that your backyard is empty — you have a blank slate there! I’ve been working for several years to get mine to that point, cutting down shrubs and removing unwanted landscaping. Just remember it’s a process, and enjoy the ride.
Once you get some stuff planted, hire a JP to come out and do a wedding at your house, and have a garden potluck. (I know, easier said than done, but I’m the Idea Girl here).
I love your idea of reading books to learn Spanish. I once bought the French version of Harry Potter 1 for that purpose, and I think it did help a little to improve my French reading skills. I’d love to learn more Spanish, too, so I might just go ahead and buy ‘la piedra filosofal’ as well!
Good luck with your goals! I hope you find a way to have a wedding that’s perfect for you.
Hi Joanna – I’m a bit behind on blog reading, but this post really spoke to me in regards to the wedding struggles.
My husband and I were engaged for 10 years (together for 5 years before that!). We knew we wanted to get married someday, hence the engagement, but couldn’t envision an actual wedding in the normal fashion. So we waited….and waited… until one day we were mentally and financially ready for it. Things just started coming together. It wasn’t forced and it was the best day of our lives.
We did a private ceremony (only about 15 people) and then did a 100 person reception of cocktails and appetizers at a restaurant (which didn’t need any further decoration). We picked our own flowers ($30 total!) and had a blast getting friends and family to help with making invites, favors, and seating cards.
So, what I’m saying is that I feel like I can relate to the uncertainty of how things are going to play out. But in the end, things will happen perfectly (or well, close to it!)